Fraud and Your Credit Report
April 23, 2008
There are many good reasons to monitor your credit report, now there is another. Industry experts are suggesting that all consumers keep a watchful eye on their credit reports as this may alert them to possible fraudulent activities.
Monitoring credit reports can be especially important for those who may have had documents containing personal information stolen or lost in the past. Sally Hurme of the AARP Financial Security department states: “You could have your wallet stolen today, and it may be two years before your information percolates through the bad guys’ hands to the person who eventually tries to use it”.
Most consumers already know that they are allowed one free credit report a year from each of the three credit bureaus by going to www.annualcreditreport.com. What you may not know is that is best to stagger your requests. This way you can get one report every four months rather than getting them all at one time. Staggering your reports allows you to monitor throughout the year.
It is also important to watch those credit card statements even for cards that you are not currently using or that have been paid down and are not being used at all. Many consumers simply presume that there will be no balance on these dead cards as they have not used them. Looking at those statements can alert you to suspicious activity.
When you discover something unusual you must contact the lender or you bank as soon as possible. This can help you to avoid paying for the charges.